Taylor Swift’s Edinburgh show is like mainlining dopamine for three hours – review
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When Taylor Swift walked onto the stage, it seemed like she was coming out of a beautiful shell made of light-colored sheets. She looked like Venus, with her blonde hair and fancy outfit covered in jewels. But as I watched her, I realized I had already seen this before. I knew exactly when she would move her head and flip her hair. I felt like I could predict the future, even though it was only 30 seconds ahead of where we were at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. This was the first time she was performing her Eras Tour in the UK, and people were really excited to see her.
The Eras Tour has been going on since March 2023 and it's three-hour long duration has been widely shared through videos, photos and front-page spreads. Swift has become a billionaire and omnipresent figure thanks to the success of the tour which was even turned into a concert film, and tonight is just another performance for her and the 73,000 people in the crowd. The concert starts with the song "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince" with Swift beckoning the audience with the fast movement of her hand.
It's incorrect to assume that familiarity leads to monotony. When the clock hits midnight on stage (even though it's actually 7:15 PM), everyone watches in anticipation, as if it's Taylor Swift's first time performing. The excitement intensifies as Swift starts singing the upbeat and popular synth pop melody of "Cruel Summer" - which is only the second song of her 45-song setlist. Throughout her performance, she reflects on her 18-year journey from a gifted Nashville artist to a powerful force dominating pop culture.
The performance is like a highly efficient machine, with every part working flawlessly. The fringes on her hips and the turns of her cowboy boots are perfectly planned out. Swift is a skilled expert and never misses a step, even when she's calling for security to assist a fan.
Usually, performers who have been around for a long time are the ones who create setlists with more than 20 songs. However, Taylor Swift defies this norm and performs an incredible 45 songs. While some of these are shortened versions, others are played in their entirety while she serenades her way through all eight of her albums. One particularly notable performance is her latest hit, the heart-wrenching breakup track from 2021, called "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)". This song is able to be played in its full, luxurious length, living up to its title.
It's been 14 years since Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal broke up, but Taylor still feels the same hurt and anger as if it happened yesterday. She's known for expressing her emotions through her music, and her song "All Too Well" is a perfect example. With her 10-piece band The Agency backing her up, Taylor's voice perfectly portrays the heartbreak that drives the song. When she performs, she's able to strike a balance between creating an intimate atmosphere while also connecting with a large audience. Taylor even uses the classic technique of pointing to members of the crowd and singing "you, and you, and youuu," but it still feels genuine and we can't help but feel connected to her. Taylor's Swifties know exactly what she's feeling when she sings, and we love it.
This blog section talks about how one of the songs played on Friday night makes people cry. Throughout the night, the writer sees many girls crying, screaming and hugging. Even when the upbeat and happy songs like "Love Story" and "Fearless" are played, they make people emotional. The writer comments that Taylor Swift, the performer of one of the emotional songs, still acts like a regular person and is relatable to her audience.
When you step away from the online world, the fans of Swiftie are truly pleasant. People exchange compliments with one another just like how they exchange homemade friendship bracelets. It feels like being at Burning Man without the use of drugs or alcohol; the bar line is impressively short. Even though we often complain about the loss of communal cultural experiences, the fellowship on display tonight makes us feel better. Swifties demonstrate that we can still appreciate things together.
In terms of the presentation, it's quite a show. If it were a movie, it would remind you of a Spielberg flick. The visuals are grand, but thoughtfully executed. For instance, pyrotechnics are saved for the intense moment in "Bad Blood". The confetti doesn't explode out of cannons carelessly, but instead falls gently, falling like the snowflakes described in Swift's song. Admittedly, I couldn't help but be captivated by the moment when Swift emerges from a sparkling pond made of pixels just before transitioning into her Midnights era.
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Despite the fact that Taylor Swift is a widely influential artist, she unfortunately cannot control the position of the moon. However, when listening to some of her songs, such as "Lavender Haze" with its lilac-colored light or "Cardigan" with its enchanting forest imagery, one can't help but picture them being performed in a dark, enclosed stadium where they would truly shine.
Swift has a shiny exterior that is hard to break, but the audience tries their best. They cheer for her for three whole minutes after she performs "Champagne Problems". There's a moment where she can't keep playing during "Would've, Could've, Should've" because her hand cramps up. She jokes that it's forming a claw and asks if anyone can relate. Everyone agrees and cheers. She hasn't played in Scotland for almost a decade, so the warm reception is appreciated.
Different time periods have varying levels of success when it comes to translating music. Swift's two recent albums, "folklore" and "evermore" exude a more subdued tone with fingerpicked ballads and light, whimsical songs. However, these albums don't quite measure up to the sultry energy of "Reputation" or the colorful, bouncy pop of "1989". Even the haunting, otherworldly vocals on "august" get lost in the acoustics of a stadium without the same studio effects.
The most powerful moments of her performance were the two unexpected songs she played. Swift only made changes to the acoustic part of her set, where she played the piano decorated with flowers at the edge of the stage. The two surprise songs she chose were "Would've, Could've, Should've" and "'Tis the Damn Season". It's impressive that whatever song Swift had chosen, it would have received the same enthusiastic response and the audience would have sung along with her.
In the second-to-last part of the night, Taylor Swift performs six songs from her most recent album The Tortured Poets Department, and it goes over quite well. It's surprising because the audience seems to know the new lyrics just as well as the old ones. In fact, I saw a couple of teenagers on the train earlier intently studying the lyrics to "But Daddy I Love Him" on a cracked iPhone. One of the songs has a country sound with a fiddle and it brings back memories of Swift's origins. She does an amazing job embodying a rebellious, youthful spirit.
Swift's dancing technique during her tours has sparked conversation among both her supporters and reviewers. As she sings about wealth, she pretends to hold and examine imaginary paper money in her hands, and when she expresses her frustration with a partner's tardiness, she gestures towards a non-existent timepiece on her wrist. Her performance style evokes memories of youth spent choreographing dances with pals. "Scotland's capital, are you prepared to revisit academia alongside me?" she inquires of the audience.
Feeling nostalgic holds immense power, and as always, Swift unleashes a plethora of it, like letting champagne bottles pop and spraying it generously on her lively and fond fans. For just three hours, it feels as if we're receiving an overabundance of dopamine.
